1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a fastening clip bar, comprising a plurality of fastening clips arranged parallel to each other, and an adhesive joining the fastening clips with each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fastening clips are U-shaped fastening means with a back and two lateral legs. For instance, they are circular or flat wires bent into the shape of an U. In many cases, the ends of the legs are provided with a chamfered cut, so that the legs can penetrate into an underground more easily. By an asymmetric chamfered cut it can be obtained that the legs run sideways from the original leg axis when they are driven in, by which the resistance against pull-out can be increased.
Fastening clip bars can be produced by cutting single wires from a continuous wire material into length, then bending a plurality of single wires over a shaping body and collecting them, and subsequently gluing together a plurality of fastening clips to a fastening clip bar. This method has become known as “one wire” or “two wires” method. The adhesive is applied to the back of the fastening clips from the outside. Further, a method for producing fastening clip bars is known in which a tape material is provided, which comprises parallel wires aligned in the direction of travel of the tape material, the tape material is divided crosswise to the direction of travel, and the plates are bent to a fastening clip bar. A particularly advantageous realisation of this “plural wires” method is decried in EP 1 331 407 B1.
The fastening clip bars are placed by means of tackers, which may be manually operated, mechanically operated, hydraulically operated, gas-fired or electrically operated tackers. In a tacker, a fastening clip bar is thrust from a magazine into the movement region of a tacking plunger, which is driven in one of the ways described above. The tacking plunger shears offone or plural fastening clips at the same time and drives them through a drive-in channel of a muzzle head into a work piece, against which the tacker is set with the muzzle head.
Self-loading machines have a magazine, which accommodates a plurality of fastening clip bars in the parallel direction. A fastening clip bar is arranged in the supply path to the drive-in channel and is thrust in the direction of the drive-in channel by a spring-biased slide bar. After each drive-in procedure, the slide bar thrusts the rest of the fastening clip bar somewhat forward, until the fastening clip bar is used up. Then, the slide bar is pulled back, and a further fastening clip bar follows on into the supply path. In particular, self-loading machines can be realised as side-loading machines with fastening clip bars arranged laterally side by side or as vertically loading or rear loading machines with fastening clip bars arranged one above the other.
In many usages of self-loading machines, strong shocks are introduced into the magazine. These shocks may have the result that fastening clip bars break. By faulty alignments in the magazine, the broken fastening clip bars can disturb the further loading of fastening clip bars into the supply path and thus they can result in operation troubles.
By way of example, the above problem occurs when fastening clip bars are automatically driven into bedsteads made of wood. Automatic apparatuses are used for this, in which several tackers are arranged on one common support frame. The support frame is moved to and fro between an upper idle position, in which processed bedsteads can be replaced by bedsteads which are to be processed, and a working position, in which the tackers are set against the work pieces. In each movement to and fro, strong shocks act on the magazines. Further on, a strong shock is introduced into the magazine in each driving in procedure, because a piston driving the tacking plunger hits against a stop buffer after a long working stroke, and this causes a strong concussion of the whole tacker. As a result of the concussions, breach of fastening clips in the self-loading magazines often occurs.